This post is not finished! I'm simply publishing it early to let the guys have access to all the photos I took. I will be updating the post as and when I start hearing more about what actually happened on the extremities of the board
Setting
A large game of 40k, using planetstrike. No Superheavies or Flyers. An imperial Guard Defence line is attacked by a space marine force - (don't ask for the fluffy reason for this, I'm assuming the guardsmen did something really bad to annoy the local astartas...)
9 players, on the Guard side, we have Greg, Mark and Leigh, Myself and a young lad who decided to join in with his small guard force
On the Marine side, George, Lee, John and Craig
Setup
The Guard could set up anywhere behind the defensive line, the marines would then setup on the opposing edge, or drop from orbit. The marines would get the first turn also.
The mission
Space Marines Objective: Kill the 4 Highest Ranking Commanders
Imperial Guard Objective: Try not to die too much. Or more specifically: protect the Commanders
House Rules
Some house rules were agreed on before the game started
- Imperial Guard Vox Casters allowed Orders to be given accross any distance
- Imperial Guard Orders could be given to any friendy Infantry (not just our own armies as is normaly played)
- Special weapons teams containing 3 sniper rifles could be split up into 3 2-man teams of a sniper and a spotter.
Deployment
The board was around 6 foot by 12. A single defence line spanning the long table edge, some buildings scattered around, among some woodland areas.
some of the force had already been deployed when I arrived (damn car battery)
A large "sally forth" force had been deployed on our left flank Courtesy of Mark and Leigh, sentinals, chimeras full of troops, rough riders (lots of), a hellhound and a salamander
moving along the table, we had a full defensive line, troops supported by russes and a couple of basilisks and a griffon. the building on the right of the photo housed some pretorian guard, with an exterminator out front, I decided to aid this section with my penal legion and a vanquisher.
My main deployment area was a nice gap left in the centre of the board. I spread myself thin along the front, using my conscripts to complete the defence line
You can see my vanquisher and penal legion in the distance, then the young lad's force behind the powered laser defence wall, then my own "mini Sally forth" force led by my conscripts and salamander followed by an empty chimera, a medusa and joined by my ever present cyclops demo tank
I placed my infantry squads to my right, to surround my command sections and backed them up with a line of tanks.
and finishing our defence line, Greg's catachan force on the right flank.
Starting from the left of the Marine deployment (opposing our right flank) somemarines hide out in the woods, (ignore the drop pod, it was just being held in reserve on a blank bit of board)
opposing me, an ad-hoc defence line formed along a bridge (4 plasma cannons on the bridge alone!!!) and a tall building (4 lascannons on the roof, 4 missile launchers on the middle floor). aided by a whirlwind
and on the right flank, opposing our defence line and Sally forth force, some pockets of vehicles, predators protecting a whirlwind with some attack bikes.
and a landraider with attackbikes alongside a predator annihilator (just off the left of the photo)
Just to show you my battlefied view, I took this photo from my deployment zone.
the Infiltrators deployed, a large squad of ratlings took hold of this oil refinery for a commanding view of the battlefield. 3 sniper teams set up along the defence line.
High Command
Here is the pretorian building containing the Pink Hat sporting Commissar Yarrick (objective number 1)
Colonel Straken (objective number 2)
Colonel Commissar Winters (objective number 3)
Objective number 4 was obviously pointed out while I wasnt paying attention, but i am told he was deployed behind the defence line near the main sally forth force.
The Game
The space marines went first, dropping all kinds of hell into my deployment zone!
A furioso Dreadnought and around 40 marines drop pod in to say hello, making quick work of my heavy weapon teams.
My command squad and section retalliate a little, but even the medic's mad patching up skills (that must have saved each squad member at least twice) eventually ran out. the squad was decimated, leaving Colonel Commissar Winters to eventually succombe to 2 drop pod stormbolters lol
My executioner was torn apart by a close range meltagun, exploding and taking out troops on both sides.
In a last ditch effort to cause some havoc while my "mini sally forth" force made a run for it, i drove my cyclops demo tank around the building and straight up the drop pod's ramp towards some green marines - lousy dice rolling meant only 2 out of the 4 hit actually died (I rolled two 1s!!)
Ignoring the objective markes in the building, (a little joke between my neighbouring forces) you can see the devastation caused by the marine force that simply "plopped" into my defence lines
The Marines Aproach the frontlines by disgorging assault Terminators from the Crusader, and deepstriking 2 more squads nearby.
Here you can see My forces Fleeing the devastation, although the medusa didnt make it very far. (presumably squashed under those new drop pods!)
Two Imperial guard stormtroopers made an attempt to cause some damage by dropping behind the marine lines.
Assault squads and yet more drop pods make planetfall to further screw up the guards hopes of defence. The marines sweep through the backlines with a methodical thoroughness.
The Marines, done forcing the lucky 88th out of cover, change their attentions to the young lad's forces.
Time for a bit of "Spot the Difference"
Thats right! Where did the stormtroopres go? both squads totalled by the two whirlwinds!The young lad's forces were starting to feel the brunt of Lee's assault
The penal legion, after suffering 4 casualties from sporadic gunfire, were ordered to leap from cover and take the fight to the terminators - and thanks to John's god awfull dice rolling skills, they gunned down (using their gunslinger assault 2 lasguns) a single terminator.
Finally, on turn 2, my Vulture makes an appearance, to give covering fire to the stormtroopers which landed a few inches away
The vanquisher was unable to fire until turn 3, but when it did KABLAM the red predator anihilator was totalled, after causing so much havoc with the frontline tanks.
Now, Check out this little fella, its turn 4, and the cyclops operator is still there, hiding away
Suprise Suprise, the Vulture is blasted out of the sky, failing to do anything productive.
And the stormtroopers fared no better, after killing a few tactical marines, they get whirlwinded to pieces, leaving a pinned sergeant.
Making short work of the penal legion (Terminators: "penal legion, what penal legion?") the Assault continues past the defence lines.
Yarrick is taken out by assault marines, the guardsmen obviously posing no threat / and not noticing the death of their glorious comander.
not a trace of the 88th is left in their original deployment zone (apart from the cyclops controller)
*crackle* "the Marines, they control the base, abandon all stations!"
Here is the last stand of the lucky 88th, the chimera and salamander take on the entirety of George's Devastator gunline, Craigs green marines and Lee's whirlwind.
The Headless Leman Russ (an early stage WIP of mine) rams into the nearest combat squad.
here, bits of the Sallying army finally make contact with the enemy.
the roughriders pile into a Baal predator
Yarrick leaps back to his feet and gives chase to the assault marines.
The Baal Predator is unhappy about its new friends
Despite the loss of its commanding officers, the main defence line remains pretty solid
(I didnt notice this at the time, but George was trying out whirlwind conversions on all the Imprial guard vehicles)
The combat squad sinply sidesteps the rampaging pillbox.
the terminators break far through the now non-existant defenses, and start picking targets
Tycho gets real mad (probably from all the standing still), and leaps from his hiding place heading for my last few vehicles.
the young lad is still holding in there (the strange plastic toy tank thingy is his, we counted it as an exterminator with a hunter killer missile)
yarrick is toast, yet again
The marines circle the broken Leman Russ, while tycho launches closer to the remnants of the 88th.
due to a technical error, involving my camera battery dying (what is it with batteries!) there are no more photos.
Basically, over the last few minutes before I had to pack up and dissapear off to work, i spent runing around getting marine players to resolve any shooting at my vehicles, in the hope they would all blow up.
my prayers were answered with George's Devastator volleys blowing all my vehicles apart. the Leman Russ exploded taking out 3 marines.
Finally, my Leman Russ vanquisher was taken out by the rampaging thunderhammers. leaving my cyclops controller to slink away and warn the other 1500 points of the lucky 88th that didnt show up to this game to get the hell away from that particular system :D
